1st Circuit Upholds Injunction of Maine a la Carte Cable TV Law
The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court's preliminary injunction stopping Maine from enforcing its cable a la carte programming law (see 2004300011). In a docket 20-1104 opinion Wednesday (in Pacer), decided by Judges Sandra Lynch and…
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Kermit Lipez and penned by Lipez, the court said there's "no question" the a la carte requirement singles out cable operators' speech and thus burdens their First Amendment rights by not applying the same requirements to competitors like direct broadcast satellite and virtual MVPDs. The 1st Circuit said the state conceded at oral argument that if the law triggers the First Amendment, the existing record doesn't justify the law. It said the case will be remanded to the district court to determine which level of constitutional scrutiny applies, whether there's post-enactment evidence in support of the law, and whether the state law is preempted. The Maine attorney general's office didn't comment. The court said Judge Juan Torruella heard oral argument in the case in September (see 2009160044) and participated in the discussing the case, but he died in October and wasn't part of the panel's opinion.